NFL Buzz: Latest free-agency updates

Last month’s Super Bowl participants have been tidying up their rosters on the second day of this year’s no-cap free-agency period. Follow the announcements and rumors here in our NFL free-agency blog.

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For the latest free-agency rankings — overall and by position — click here.

March 6 News and Notes

Osgood, 6 feet 5, 220 pounds, is regarded as one of the NFL’s top special teams players, earning an invitation to the Pro Bowl in three of the past four seasons (2009, 2007, 2006). He has played in 108 games with 13 starts and eight postseason games since signing with the Chargers as a rookie free agent in 2003. He has missed only four career games and owns a current streak of 64 consecutive games played.

Osgood, 30, has long said he wants to get a realistic shot to play receiver, and with the problems the Jaguars have had over the years at the position, he might just finally get that chance.

Report: Pennington staying with Miami — 8:43 p.m.Chad Pennington will remain with the Miami Dolphins in 2010, this time as a backup.

Pennington has agreed to terms on a one-year contract, and the deal is expected to be signed by Monday, a person familiar with the discussions said Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Dolphins hadn’t announced an agreement.

The Dolphins did announce the signing of linebacker Karlos Dansby, who agreed to a $43 million, five-year contract Friday, the first day of free agency. The team did not host any visits by free agents Saturday.

Jets trade S Rhodes to Cards — 7:45 p.m.The New York Jets have traded veteran FS Kerry Rhodes to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2010 fourth-round pick and a 2011 seventh-round pick, both teams announced.

"We all know that the safety position was a hole we needed to fill,” Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “To be able to do that so quickly and with a proven starter off the NFL’s No. 1 defense is a tremendous positive for our football team. Kerry has the experience and ability to step in right away. He fits a lot of the things that we do defensively, and the prospect of having him alongside a perennial All-Pro like Adrian Wilson is very exciting."

Rhodes was one of the top free safeties in the NFL before the 2009 season, but he struggled in coach Rex Ryan’s scheme and wound up being benched for a short period of time. Rhodes is signed through 2013 and was due a roster bonus next week worth $2 million, sources said. The Jets apparently weren’t going to pay him the bonus, so they moved him.

Rhodes will take over the starting free safety job with the Cardinals because Antrel Rolle was released earlier this week. It’s unclear who will replace Rhodes in the starting lineup for the Jets.

FOXSports.com’s Adam Schein first broke the news of the Rhodes trade earlier on Saturday.

Redskins add OL Hicks — 7:42 p.m.The Washington Redskins have started the reconstruction of their offensive line by raiding the Minnesota Vikings.

A source told FOXSports.com that Washington has signed guard/tackle Artis Hicks to a three-year contract that could yield as much as $9 million through incentives.

Over the past four seasons in Minnesota, Hicks started 27 games and appeared in 29 others as a backup and special-teams player. Hicks is versatile enough to play right guard or left tackle, a position of need for the Redskins after Pro Bowl starter Chris Samuels retired because of health issues.

Bell is also receiving interest from other teams, including the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles, a source said.

Bell’s experience in the West Coast offense earlier in his career with the Denver Broncos could be a reason the Eagles have interest in him. Plus, with veteran RB Brian Westbrook released on Friday, the team needs a veteran to back up new starting RB LeSean McCoy.

With the Browns releasing veteran RB Jamal Lewis recently, the Browns have a need for a veteran back to go along with RB Jerome Harrison.

“We are happy to be able to have Chad as a member of the Packers,” executive vice president, general manager and director of football operations Ted Thompson said. “He has been a valuable teammate and contributor to our team. We look forward to him continuing to work to help us build and prepare for a successful 2010 season.”

Clifton has played his entire career for the Packers and was selected by the team in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

Robinson, who turns just 28 in April, was selected in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

Robinson’s addition immediately upgrades a shaky Falcon secondary that struggled for most of the past few seasons. Robinson brings a physical nature to his position and is known as one of the top cornerbacks in the league, so Atlanta’s defense should improve with him in the fold this season.

Sensabaugh has visits lined up — 3:30 p.m.The Dallas Cowboys’ second-round tender offer to restricted free agent Gerald Sensabaugh may not have been high enough to discourage other teams from attempting to sign the talented young safety to an offer sheet.

An NFL source has told Scout.com that the sixth-year safety, who finished fourth on the team in tackles in 2009, has three visits in the planning stage with teams that have an immediate need for starter-quality talent at the position.

Sensabaugh was originally a fifth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2005 NFL Draft. After four seasons with the Jaguars, he signed with the Cowboys prior to the 2009 season. He’s started 39 games, including 15 for Dallas last year, and has appeared in 65.

Bell was tendered at the lowest level, which means the Saints could match an offer sheet from the Seahawks, but they wouldn’t get any compensation back in return if they chose not to match it.

As Scout.com reported previously, free-agent DE Tyler Brayton also has a visit set up with the Seahawks. Like Bell, he’s scheduled to arrive in Seattle on Sunday, and is expected to meet with the team on Monday.

Burleson, Vanden Bosch make it official — 2:41 p.m.The Detroit Lions finally announced two key free-agent signings on Saturday. WR Nate Burleson and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch officially signed their contracts.

Vanden Bosch gives the Lions a proven pass rusher to play opposite DE Dewayne White. Head coach Jim Schwartz coached Vanden Bosch previously with the Tennessee Titans, so he knows what to expect from the veteran defensive lineman — a hard working player who never takes a play off.

Leckey, Saints agree to one-year deal — 1:25 p.m.The New Orleans Saints re-signed another veteran on Saturday. This time, it’s C Nick Leckey to a one-year deal, the team announced. Earlier, they re-signed veteran S Pierson Prioleau to a one-year deal.

Leckey, a six-year veteran from Kansas State, signed with the Saints as an unrestricted free agent last offseason after prior stints with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

He played in eight games during the 2009 regular season, primarily on special teams with spot duty at center as well, and also appeared in all three postseason contests. The 6-3, 291-pound lineman has played in 65 games in his NFL career, starting 32.

— Adam Caplan, Scout.comRams lock up two veterans — 1:09 p.m.The St. Louis Rams re-signed veteran safety Craig Dahl to an extension and signed free-agent QB A.J. Feeley to a two-year deal, the team announced.

Dahl, who signed with the Rams as a backup last season, wound up playing in 14 games and starting 8.

Feeley, who played for offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur with the Philadelphia Eagles when Shurmur coached the quarterbacks, is the fourth quarterback now under contract for the Rams. Feeley spent last season with the Carolina Panthers.

It’s believed that veteran QB Marc Bulger, who is set to make $8.5 million in base salary this season, will be asked to take a large pay cut or could be eventually be released.

The 6-foot, 207-pound receiver and special teams ace has played in 78 games and started seven during his career. He’s played for the Cowboys, Saints, Ravens, and Chiefs since entering the league as an undrafted free agent with Dallas back in 2004.

Copper has caught 50 passes for 668 yards and has scored six touchdowns during his career. He’s returned 27 kickoffs for 520 yards (19.25 average) and has made 57 special teams tackles during his NFL career. He finished second on the Chiefs last year with 16 special teams tackles.

Panthers, Titans have an eye on former Jets DE — 12:30 p.m.Jets defensive end Marques Douglas finished the 2009 season with 64 tackles, fourth-best on the team. But the Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans are currently showing the most interest in the unrestricted free agent, an NFL source has told Scout.com.

Douglas played a key role in helping the rest of the Jets defensive linemen learn head coach Rex Ryan’s defensive scheme since Douglas had played for Ryan in Baltimore during the 2008 season.

The 6-foot-2, 290-pound player entered the league in 2000 as an undrafted free agent out of Howard University. While playing for the Saints, Ravens, 49ers and Jets during that span, he’s started 91 games, appeared in 120, made 316 tackles and logged 20.5 sacks.

Cowboys face competition for Holland — 11:48 a.m.The Dallas Cowboys are showing some interest in re-signing offensive lineman Montrae Holland, but the Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also in the mix, according to an NFL source.

The eighth-year veteran, who is an unrestricted free agent, was traded to the Cowboys from the Denver Broncos back in 2008 for a fifth-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft. Since joining the Cowboys, he has started in just two games and appeared in seven as a reserve after being a 16-game starter for the Broncos in 2007, so a fresh start with another team might benefit the -6-foot-2, 326-pound lineman.

A fourth-round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints, Holland has appeared in 75 games and started 48, including all 16 during the 2007 season with the Broncos.

NFL teams consider the medical testing even more important than the workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine. Arizona State wide receiver Chris McGaha benefited from last week’s exams as well.

According to agent Kenny Zuckerman, McGaha learned he had 20/60 eyesight after a vision test. McGaha underwent Lasix surgery in Arizona this week and his eyesight has already improved to 20/15, Zuckerman said.

Speaking for his client, Zuckerman conveyed that McGaha was happy because “it will finally be nice to actually see the ball he’s catching and not that brown blur he has been so accustomed to over the past couple of seasons.”

The 6-foot-1, 207-pound McGaha caught 56 passes for 673 yards and four touchdowns as a senior. NFLDraftscout.com projects McGaha as a late-round pick or college free-agent signing but his bettered vision may prompt interested teams to take another look.

Saints take advantage of salary cap’s expiration — 10:01 a.m.The New Orleans Saints made two roster moves after the start of free agency.

As expected, they released veteran DE Charles Grant. Grant had four years left on his contract and carried a base salary of $4 million for 2010. Without a salary cap to deal with this year, it made it easier to cut him without ramifications. They won’t be responsible for any of the over $8 million in bonus proration.

Grant, who turns 32 in September, is a decent pass rusher and is good against the run.

The Saints also re-signed veteran S Pierson Prioleau. The journeyman defensive back appeared in all 16 regular season games last season for the Saints and started one game.

Browns bringing back safety — 9:54 a.m.The Cleveland Browns have re-signed S Ray Ventrone to a three-year, $2.2 million deal, a league source told Scout.com. Ventrone was scheduled to become a restricted free agent, but the Browns didn’t tender him, so he became free to sign anywhere.

Ventrone, who originally signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005, will make his mark on special teams for the Browns.

Colts getting house in order — 9:49 a.m.The Indianapolis Colts made three roster moves throughout the day on Friday.

They released veterans QB Jim Sorgi and DL Raheem Brock. They also signed G/C Andy Alleman, a league source told Scout.com.

Sorgi, as Scout.com noted previously, was due $1.080 for 2010 and carried a roster bonus of $275,000. As a vested veteran, Sorgi is now free to sign with any team. Sorgi’s release leaves the Colts without a veteran quarterback behind starter Peyton Manning.

Brock, who started 104 games during his eight years with the Colts, carried a $3.79 million base salary for 2010 along with a $500,000 roster bonus.

The versatile defensive lineman should be able to find work fairly quickly because of his ability to play tackle or end.

Alleman was not tendered by the Kansas City Chiefs as a restricted free agent, so he was free to sign with any team. Alleman was originally selected in the 2007 draft in the third round by the New Orleans Saints.